Electrical connector

ABSTRACT

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of this invention, an electrical connector of the bulkhead type includes a receptacle body adapted to be fixed to a bulkhead and carrying pin contacts with glass seal insulation, a connector body carrying the pin sockets and having an annular end section that sealingly fits within a companion end section of the receptacle body, a locator pin extending radially through the wall of the receptacle body end section so that an inward portion thereof fits within an external groove of the connector body end section to rotationally align the pins and sockets, and a locking sleeve rotatably mounted on the connector body and having a bayonet slot that engages the outward portion of the locator pin to couple the receptacle and connector bodies together.

United States Patent [191 Kerr [ 1 March 6, 1973 [73] Assignee:Schlumberger Technology Corporatlon, New York, N.Y.

[22] Filed Nov. 4, 1971 21 App1.No.: 195,546

[52] US. Cl ..339/90 R, 339/94 A, 339/186 M, 339/188 C, 339/218 M [51]Int. Cl. ..H0lr 13/54 [58] Field of Search ..339/90, 94, 186, 187, 188,339/189, 218

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,202,956 8/1965l-lennessey, Jr. ..339/90 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 726,2133/1956 Great Britain ..339/186 M Primary ExaminerJoseph l-l. McGlynnAtt0rney-Ernest R. Archambeau, Jr. et al.

[57] ABSTRACT In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of thisinvention, an electrical connector of the bulkhead type includes areceptacle body adapted to be fixed to a bulkhead and carrying pincontacts with glass seal insulation, a connector body carrying the pinsockets and having an annular end section that sealingly fits within acompanion end section of the receptacle body, a locator pin extendingradially through the wall of the receptacle body end section so that aninward portion thereof fits within an external groove of the connectorbody end section to rotationally align the pins and sockets, and alocking sleeve rotatably mounted on the connector body and having abayonet slot that engages the outward portion of the locator pin tocouple the receptacle and connector bodies together.

13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR This invention relatesgenerally to electrical connectors, and more particularly to a bulkheadconnector having a new and improved pin and socket alignment and quickconnect and disconnect coupling mechanism.

For bulkhead connectors it is desirable to provide electricalconnections between a hostile environment such as high pressure seawater and a protected environment behind the bulkhead. Thus thereceptacle which is attached to the bulkhead must be adequately sealedto prevent leakage. Moreover, the contact region for the pins and socketshould be sealed off to protect the parts. from corrosion damage andelectrical shorting due to water entry. There is a further need in thistype of device for a simple, reliable and foolproof mechanism foraligning the pins in the receptacle for engagement in the sockets in themating connector so that the parts can be mated with maximum dispatch,together with a coupling to lock the parts together against inadvertentdeparture. Although a number of prior art mechanisms exist for thispurpose, there is a need for a reliable foolproof structure which isalso simple and requires a minimum number of parts for economy inmanufacture.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improvedconnector of the bulkhead type which when made up is sealed off withrespect to the outside environment, and incorporates a unique pinalignment and connector coupling mechanism which satisfies the needexisting in the prior art.

This and other objects are attained in accordance with the concepts ofthe present invention through the provision of a receptacle body adaptedfor leak proof attachment to a bulkhead or the like and carrying pincontacts which are sealed and insulated from the body by glasscylinders. The receptacle body has an outer annular end section intowhich is inserted the adjacent end section of a connector body carryingthe pin sockets. An O-ring seal between the end sections provides afluid tight interfit. The end section of the receptacle body carries aradially disposed pin which extends both inwardly and outwardly thereof,and the inner portion is adapted for reception in a longitudinallyextending groove in the connector end section to align the pins andsockets in the proper rotational attitude for insertion one within theother. A locking sleeve rotatably mounted on the connector body has abayonet slot which engages the outer portion of the aligning pin so thata partial turn of the locking sleeve will serve to lock the receptacleand connector bodies together. y

The invention has other objects and advantages which will become morefully apparent in connection with the following detailed description ofa preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the appended drawingin which:

FIG. 1 is a detailed sectional side view of the electricalconnector'assembly;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

and 7 FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of the two halves of theconnector prior to make up.

' Referring initially to FIG. 1, a bulkhead connector assembly 10inaccordance with the principles of the present invention is shown incross-sectional detail. A

receptacle body or shell 11 of generally annular configuration has athreaded section 12 sized for reception within an opening 13 in abulkhead l4 and has external threads 15 onto which a nut 16 and a washer17 are positioned to fix the body 11 to the bulkhead. The rearwardlyfacing surface 18 is provided with an encircling groove 19 containing anO-ring 20 that seals the body' 11 with respect to the bulkhead. Aplurality of apertures 22 are formed in the transverse section 23 of thebody 11 in any one of a number of more or less symmetrical arrangements.Each aperture 22 receives a typical contact pin 24 which is electricallyinsulated from, and sealed with respect to, the body by a glass cylinder25. The cylinders 25 are initially sized to provide close tolerance fitswith the pins 24 and the apertures 22, and after assembly the glass isfired in an appropriate manner to cause it to flow and provide a tightseal. The front and rear faces of the transverse section 23 internallyof the body are coated with a substance 26 such as silicone to providefurther sealing and insulation for the pins and glass cylinders. Theouter end section 28 of the body '1 1 has an internal bore 29 that issized to slidably receive the end section 30 of a connector body orshell designated generally at 31.

The connector body 31 has an internal bore with stepped diameter wallsurfaces 32 and 33 and has inserted therein a wafer 34 carrying aplurality of pin sockets 35, the wafer being retained by a suitable snapring 36 that fits within a groove 37. The wafer 34 has a steppeddiameter to provide a shoulder 38 which abuts a companion shoulder 39within the body 31. To rotationally position the wafer 34 and thus thesockets within the body 31, an upper portion 40 of the forward sectionof the wafer is formed in a bulbous fashion as shown in FIG. 2 and fitswith a mating recess 41 in the body beyond the shoulder 39.

A locking sleeve 45 is rotatably mounted on the connector body 31 andhas an inwardly thickened section 46 at one end which is confined forlimited longitudinal movement between an outwardly directed flange 47and a stop ring 48. A compressed coil spring 49 urges the locking sleeve45 in a rearward direction. A stop pin 50 is fixed within a bore 51 onthe flange 47 and has its free end extending within an arcuate recess 52in the thickened section 46 of the sleeve 45, the stop pin functioningto limit rotation of the sleeve with respect to the body to an angularvalue such as 45 as shown in FIG. 2.

As previously mentioned, the end section 30 of the connector body 31 isslidably fitted within the end section 28 of the receptacle body 11, andan O-ring seal 55 is received within an-external annular groove 56 toprovide a fluid tight interfit which serves to protect the pins andsockets from corrosion damage and shorting due to water entry or thelike. A locking pin 56 is force fitted or otherwise fixed within aradially directed aperture 57 in the end section 28 and has an innerportion 58 extending inwardly beyond the inner wall surface thereof andan outer portion 59 extending outwardly beyond the outer wall surfacethereof. The end section 30 of the connector body 31 is provided with alongitudinally extending groove 60 which receives the inner portion 58so that the pin and groove function to rotationally align the contactpins 24 for insertion into the sockets 35. Moreover, the outer portion59 of the pin 56 is engaged by a bayonet slot 61 formed in the lockingsleeve 45 so that the outer portion and slot function to lock theconnector body 31 to the receptacle body 11 in a quick connect anddisconnect fashion.

ln operation, the receptacle body 11 is fixed to the bulkhead 14 by thenut 16 and the environment inside the bulkhead remain sealed off due tothe O-ring 20, the glass seal insulators and the silicone sheaths on thefront and rear surfaces of the transverse section 23. The desiredconnections can be made between electrical conductors and the ends ofthe pin contacts 24 which preferably extend beyond the threaded fitting12 as shown in FIGS. land 3. The connector body 31 is mated with thereceptacle body 11 by inserting the end section within the end section28, the sockets being aligned for engagement by the pin contacts 24 bythe coaction between inner portion 58 of the pin 56 and the groove 60.As the connection is made, the outer portion 59 of the pin 56 enters thebayonet slot 61, whereupon va partial turn of the locking sleeve willlock the connector body to the receptacle body.

The receptacle and connector bodies 11 and 31 and the locking sleeve 45are preferably made of a corrosion resistant material such as stainlesssteel, and the wafer 34 is preferably made of a hard plastic materialsuch as diallyl phthalate. The outer end portion 65 of the connectorbody 31 can be provided with external annular grooves 66 to facilitateattachment by molding or the like of the outer sheath of the electricalcable having conductors connected to the ends 67 pin sockets 35 bycrimping and soldering in a typical manner.

It will now be apparent that a new and improved bulkhead type electricalconnector has been disclosed having a unique pin and socket alignmentand connector coupling mechanism which is simple, and foolproof inoperation and economical to manufacture. The connector assembly isarranged such that the electrical connectors are sealed off to protectagainst hostile environments. It should be expressly understood thatalthough the present invention has been disclosed in connection with abulkhead type device, the principles of the present invention areapplicable for incorporation in other types of electrical connectors.

Since certain changes or modifications may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the inventive concepts involved, it isthe aim of the appended claims to cover all such changes ormodifications falling within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

I claim:

1. An electrical connector apparatus comprising: first and secondbodies, said first body having an annular end section sized to fitwithin an end section of said second body; locator means on the outerone of said end sections and having an inner portion extending radiallyinwardly thereof and an outer portion extending radially outwardlythereof; groove means in the inner one of said end sections adapted toreceive said inner portion to rotationally align said bodies; andlocking means on said first body cooperable with said outer portion toreleasably lock said bodies together.

2. The connector apparatus of claim 1 wherein said locator means isconstituted by a pin extending through the wall of saidouter endsection.

3. The connector apparatus of claim 2 wherein said locking meanscomprising a rotatably mounted sleeve having a bayonet channel toprovide for locking in response to a partial turn of said sleeve.

4. The connector apparatus of claim 3 further including seal meansbetween said end sections to provide a fluid tight interfit.

5. An electrical connector apparatus comprising: first and secondbodies, said first body carrying a plurality of pin contacts and havingan annular first end section surrounding said contacts; a second bodycarrying a plurality of pin sockets adapted to be mated with saidcontacts and having an annular second end section sized to fit withinsaid first end section; a locator pin extending radially through thewall of said first end section and having an inner portion extendinginwardly of the inner wall surface thereof and an outer portionextending outwardly of the outer wall surface thereof; groove means inthe outer wall surface of said second end section adapted to receivesaid inner portion of said locator pin to rotationally align saidbodies;and a locking sleeve mounted on said second body and having channelmeans adapted to engage said outer portion of said locator pin to locksaid bodies together.

6. The connector apparatus of claim 5 furtherincluding means forinsulating and for sealing said contact pins with respect to said firstbody, and a seal between said end sections to provide a fluid tightinterfit.

7. The connector apparatus of claim 6 further including wafer meansdisposed within said second body for carrying said pin sockets, andmeans for rotationally fixing said wafer means within said second body.

8. The connector apparatus of claim 7 wherein said fixing meanscomprises a projection of said wafer means engaging in a companionrecess in said second body.

9. An electrical connector apparatus adapted for use in bulkheadapplications comprising: a first shell body having means for providing afluid tight coupling through a bulkhead or the like, said shell bodyincluding a transverse mid-section carrying contact pins and an annularfirst end section surrounding said contact pins; a second shell bodycarrying pin sockets adapted to mate with said contact pins, said secondshell body having an annular second end section sized to fit within saidfirst end section; locator means on said first end section and having aninner portion extending radially inwardly thereof and an outer portionextending radially outwardly thereof; groove means formed longitudinallyof said second end section and adapted to receive said inner portion ofsaid locator means to rotationally align said shell bodies and thus saidcontact pins and said sockets for proper reception; and locking means onsaid second shell body having means cooperable with said outer portionof said locator means to releasably lock said shell bodies together.

10. The connector apparatus of claiin 9 further including glass cylindermeans for sealing and insulating said pin contacts with respect to saidtransverse midsection, and seal means between said end sections toprovide a fluid tight interfit.

11. The connector apparatus of claim 10 further including layers. ofsilicone on the front and rear wall surfaces of said mid-section toprovide additional sealing of said contact pins with respect to saidfirst shell body.

12. The connector apparatus of claim 9 wherein said locator means isconstituted by a pin fixed through the wall of said first end section.

13. The connector apparatus of claim 12 wherein said locking meanscomprises a rotatably mounted 5 sleeve having a bayonet channel toprovide for locking in response to a partial turn of said sleeve.

1. An electrical connector apparatus comprising: first and secondbodies, said first body having an annular end section sized to fitwithin an end section of said second body; locator means on the outerone of said end sections and having an inner portion extending radiallyinwardly thereof and an outer portion extending radially outwardlythereof; groove means in the inner one of said end sections adapted toreceive said inner portion to rotationally align said bodies; andlocking means on said first body cooperable with said outer portion toreleasably lock said bodies together.
 1. An electrical connectorapparatus comprising: first and second bodies, said first body having anannular end section sized to fit within an end section of said secondbody; locator means on the outer one of said end sections and having aninner portion extending radially inwardly thereof and an outer portionextending radially outwardly thereof; groove means in the inner one ofsaid end sections adapted to receive said inner portion to rotationallyalign said bodies; and locking means on said first body cooperable withsaid outer portion to releasably lock said bodies together.
 2. Theconnector apparatus of claim 1 wherein said locator means is constitutedby a pin extending through the wall of said outer end section.
 3. Theconnector apparatus of claim 2 wherein said locking means comprising arotatably mounted sleeve having a bayonet channel to provide for lockingin response to a partial turn of said sleeve.
 4. The connector apparatusof claim 3 further including seal means between said end sections toprovide a fluid tight interfit.
 5. An electrical connector apparatuscomprising: first and second bodies, said first body carrying aplurality of pin contacts and having an annular first end sectionsurrounding said contacts; a second body carrying a plurality of pinsockets adapted to be mated with said contacts and having an annularsecond end section sized to fit within said first end section; a locatorpin extending radially through the wall of said first end section andhaving an inner portion extending inwardly of the inner wall surfacethereof and an outer portion extending outwardly of the outer wallsurface thereof; groove means in the outer wall surface of said secondend section adapted to receive said inner portion of said locator pin torotationally align said bodies; and a locking sleeve mounted on saidsecond body and having channel means adapted to engage said outerportion of said locator pin to lock said bodies together.
 6. Theconnector apparatus of claim 5 further including means for insulatingand for sealing said contact pins with respect to said first body, and aseal between said end sections to provide a fluid tight interfit.
 7. Theconnector apparatus of claim 6 further including wafer means disposedwithin said second body for carrying said pin sockets, and means forrotationally fixing said wafer means within said second body.
 8. Theconnector apparatus of claim 7 wherein said fixing means comprises aprojection of said wafer means engaging in a companion recess in saidsecond body.
 9. An electrical connector apparatus adapted for use inbulkhead applications comprising: a first shell body having means forproviding a fluid tight coupling through a bulkhead or the like, saidshell body including a transverse mid-section carrying contact pins andan annular first end section surrounding said contact pins; a secondshell body carrying pin sockets adapted to mate with said contact pins,said second shell body having an annular second end section sized to fitwithin said first end section; locator means on said first end sectionand having an inner portion extending radially inwardly thereof and anouter portion extending radially outwardly thereof; groove means formedlongitudinally of said second end section and adapted to receive saidinner portion of said locator means to rotationally align said shellbodies and thus said contact pins and said sockets for proper reception;and locking means on said second shell body having means cooperable withsaid outer portion of said locator means to releasably lock said shellbodies together.
 10. The connector apparatus of claim 9 furtherincluding glass cylinder means for sealing and insulating said pincontacts with respect to said transverse mid-section, and seal meansbetween said end sections to provide a fluid tight interfit.
 11. Theconnector apparatus of claim 10 further including layers of silicone onthe front and rear wall surfaces of said mid-section to provideadditional sealing of said contact pins with respect to said first shellbody.
 12. The connector apparatus of claim 9 wherein said locator meansis constituted by a pin fixed through the wall of said first endsection.